The economy may be worse and fewer jobs may be available, but Florida workers are increasingly optimistic they can land a new position if they need one. That's the surprising result of the latest survey of Florida workers by Harris Interactive for the staffing company Spherion. While 78 percent of the workers interviewed believe the economy is getting weaker, 55 percent are confident in their ability to find a new job. That's up 15 percentage points from the previous month. But that may be wishful thinking. Spherion said both employees and employers are more hesitant in making a move.

Wide disparity in median earnings

While the median weekly pay of the nation's 106.5-million full-time wage and salary workers was $719 in the first quarter, pay varied greatly by age, gender and race, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women who worked full time had median earnings of $637 per week, or 80.6 percent of the $790 median for men. The median pay for black men working at full-time jobs was $604 per week, 73.5 percent of the median for white men ($822). The difference was less among women, as black women's median wage ($556) was 85.3 percent of that of their white counterparts ($652). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($520) were lower than those of blacks ($582), whites ($742) and Asians ($842). Full-time workers 25 or older without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $435, compared with $615 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,108 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree.

Boss is overpaid, more execs say

More executives say the heads of their companies are paid too much, says a recent global survey. Thirty-four percent of respondents to the survey by executive recruiter Korn/Ferry International expressed concern about their chief executives' compensation. That compared with 21 percent a year earlier. "If executives believe that CEO pay is appropriately set in relation to performance, they don't have concerns," said Russell Miller, managing director of Korn/Ferry's Executive Compensation Advisors.